40 Israeli Soldiers Held in Mass AWOL
In an unprecedented case of mass disobedience within Israel’s armed forces, about 40 protesting soldiers were jailed this week for going AWOL, family members and the army said Friday.
The soldiers, in their third and final year of compulsory service in the Golani Infantry Brigade, went absent without leave and returned three days late from weekend leave to protest their treatment by a new commander, family members said.
The Golani brigade commander jailed the protest organizer for 56 days while the other soldiers were jailed for between 14 and 28 days, the newspaper Al Hamishmar said.
The newspaper said the commander had ordered soldiers to perform continual drills and fatigue duty normally reserved for new recruits in basic training.
Military sources said it was the first case of mass AWOL in Israel’s generally highly motivated and well-disciplined army.
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